Shampoo brush



P 1, 1964 L. E. LUSSIER ETAL 3,146,484

SHAMPOO BRUSH Filed March 8, 1962 INVENTORS LEON E. LUSSIER OSCAR E. LUSSIER BY JAMES B. SWETT ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,146,484 SHAMPOO BRUSH Leon E. Lussier and Oscar E. Lussier, Woonsocket, and

James B. Swett, Barrington, R.I., assignors to Rexail Drug and Chemical Company, Los Angeles, Calif., a

corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 8, 1962, Ser. No. 178,303 1 Claim. (Cl. 15-542) The present invention is directed to a unique shampoo brush having a reservoir for a commercial hair shampoo solution which is discharged through a port in the bottom of the reservoir to the users scalp. A manually operated valve controls the quantity of solution discharged through the port. A plurality of stiif plastic bristles are affixed around the port for foaming the solution and massaging the users scalp.

The known shampoo brushes do not have a valve for controlling the solution flow from the reservoir.

Our invention provides an unbreakable shampoo brush of simple construction with a valve mechanism having a positive seal when seated in the discharge port. A top seal is removably aflixed over a top opening in the brush. The shampoo solution is replenished in the reservoir through the top opening in a quick and simple manner.

In the drawings we have shown a present preferred embodiment of our invention in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective of our shampoo brush;

FIGURE 2 is a bottom view of our shampoo brush;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevation view of our shampoo brush;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-section taken on line 44 of FIGURE 3; and,

FIGURE 5 is a cross-section similar to section 4 showing the valve mechanism unseated to permit liquid flow from the reservoir.

Briefly, the present invention relates to a plastic shampoo brush comprising a shampoo solution contain ing reservoir having cylindrical sidewalls with an integral bottom wall and an open top. A seal encloses the open top. A valve mechanism extends through a central solution discharge opening in the bottom wall. The valve mechanism is manually operated by flexing the central portion of the seal whereby the valve is opened and closed to dispense liquid shampoo solution from the reservoir out the opening in the bottom wall. A plu rality of resilient flexible brush-like extensions are integral with the underside of the bottom wall to provide a scalp massaging and foaming device for use with the shampoo solution.

Referring specifically to the drawings, the shampoo brush, generally referred to as 10, includes a hollow reservoir having cylindrical side walls 11 with an integral bottom wall 12 having integral, downwardly directed, flexible brush-like extensions 13 forming a brush on the bottom wall of the shampoo brush. The top edge of the cylindrical walls 11 form an open top and are slightly flared outwardly at 14. A seal, generally indicated as 15, includes a central wall 16 which substantially encloses the open top of the reservoir and has an integral upwardly extending peripheral wall 17 which in turn is afiixed to a connecting wall 18 extending outwardly from the wall 17, which in turn is connected to a downwardly directed rim wall 19. The walls 17, 18 and 19 extend around the entire periphery of the central wall 16 and form a U- shaped sealing rim which fits over the flared portion 14 of the cylindrical side wall 11. Preferably the inside surface of wall 17 and the inside surface of wall 19 tightly engage the flared portion 14 of the side wall to form a liquid-tight seal whereby the shampoo solution inside the reservoir cannot leak out the top opening of the reservoir.

3,146,484 Patented Sept. 1, 1964 "Ice The seal structure of the present application is of known construction as illustratively shown in Tupper U.S. Patent 2,487,400, issued November 8, 1949.

A ring 20 is atfixed to side wall 11 of the reservoir by connecting link 21. The ring 20 is used to hang the shampoo brush in a convenient location in a bathroom or is used for grasping the shampoo brush during use by inserting one finger upwardly through the ring, as viewed in FIGURE 3, and overlapping the finger above the top of the shampoo brush for exerting a pressure on the center of the seal 15 for the purpose to be described hereinafter.

The entire shampoo brush is preferably fabricated of regular or linear polyethylene or polypropylene and particularly the seal 15 must possess a resilience and flexibility such that an adequate seal is effected between the wall 19 and the flared portion 14 of the side wall 11. The central portion of the wall 16 must possess a resiliency such that the wall can be manually pressed downwardly as shown in FIGURE 5. A discharge port 22 is provided in the center of the bottom wall 12 and has a central circular dished portion 23 surrounded by an upstanding rib 24. The underside of the wall 12 has a peripheral projection 25 surrounding the discharge port 22 and an internal conical valve seat 26 is provided within the projection 25 as an extension of the discharge port 22.

A valve 27 is engageable with valve seat 26 and has an outer surface conforming to the valve seat 26 in the manner shown in FIGURE 4. A valve stem 28 extends upwardly from and is integral with the valve 27 and preferably has a top integral knob 29. The valve 27, valve stem 28 and knob 29 are an integral unit movable in unison. A coil spring 30 is positioned around valve stem 28 and is maintained in compression between the knob 29 and the dish-shaped opening 23 at the bottom wall 12. The lower end of spring seats in opening 23 and the upper end of the spring seats against knob 29. The spring 30 normally maintains the valve 27 in the seated position shown in FIGURE 4, thereby maintaining the discharge port 22 closed and the shampoo solution within the reservoir.

As shown in FIGURE 5, the valve is operated by exerting a downward force in the direction of arrow 31 on the center of the top wall 16 thereby pushing downwardly on the knob 29, valve stem 28 and valve 27 to unseat the valve 27 from the valve seat 26 to open the discharge port 22. It should be noted that the valve stem 28 is of a lesser diameter than the diameter of discharge port 22 thereby permitting a portion of shampoo solution to pass from the reservoir through the discharge port 22 around stem 28 and out of the shampoo brush.

The discharge port is preferably located in the middle of the bottom wall 12 but it may be otherwise located if desired. In the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings the discharge port 22 is equally surrounded by the brush-like extensions 13 thereby ensuring that the shampoo solution will be taken up and properly foamed by the extensions 13 during use of the shampoo brush.

In use, the shampoo brush is grasped by the hand of the user at the top or by inserting a finger through the ring 20 and placing the other fingers around the shampoo brush. The users hair is then wetted and a force 31 is exerted on the top of the shampoo brush to discharge a portion of the shampoo solution onto the scalp of the user. By proper rotary motion of the shampoo brush, with extensions 13 engaging the scalp and hair, a lather is created on the users scalp and the scalp is massaged.

When the wall 16 is flexed downward as shown in FIGURE 5, a slight pressure is exerted on the upper surface of the shampoo solution in the brush. This pressure aids the flow of solution through the discharge port 22.

While We have described a present preferred embodiment of our invention, it may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the following claim.

We claim:

A shampoo brush fabricated from flexible, resilient plastic, consisting of a liquid containing reservoir generally cylindrically shaped having a side wall with a top edge, an integral bottom wall and an open top; a ringshaped finger insertable handle integral with the outside surface of said generally cylindrical side wall, a central opening in the bottom wall, said opening being formed by a side wall providing a conical valve seat with the axis of revolution of the seat extending normal to said bottom wall and the valve side wall sloping upward and inward relative to the reservoir; a seal enclosing the open top, said seal having a flat central wall substantially covering the open top, an upwardly extending wall aflixed to the periphery of the central wall, an outwardly extending connecting wall afiixed to the periphery of said upwardly extending wall, a downwardly extending rim wall afiixed to the periphery of said connecting wall; said downwardly extending wall being engageable with the inside surface of said side wall, said connecting wall being engageable with the top edge of the side wall, and said rim wall being engageable with the outside surface of the side wall to provide a tight seal for the open top of the reservoir, said flat central wall being wholly located below the upper edge of the reservoir side wall when the seal closes the open top on the reservoir; a plurality of elongated, tapered, downwardly extending resilient brush-like elements integral with the underside of said bottom wall; a conical valve positionable in and conforming in shape to said conical valve seat to close the opening in the bottom reservoir wall, said valve seat and valve being fabricated from flexible resilient plastic such that the seat and valve can yield to efiFectively close the opening in the bottom wall; a free-standing valve stem integral with said conical valve and extending through the opening in the bottom wall and upwardly in the reservoir, the valve stem being wholly within the reservoir with its upper end in the proximity of the center of said central wall of the seal; the center of said flat central wall being flexible such that manual pressure on said center will flex the wall inwardly to engage the upper end of said valve stem and move the stem downwardly to downwardly unseat said valve from the opening in the bottom wall thereby permitting said liquid to flow out of the reservoir through the central opening, and a coil spring wound around said valve stem to bias the valve and stem upwardly to centrally seat said valve in the seat and close the central opening in the bottom wall, said valve being self-aligning in said seat; due to the spring exerting an upward force on the valve stem to position the stem normal to the reservoir bottom wall with the upper end of the valve stem located at about the center of the central wall of the seal.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,865,850 Garvey July 5, 1932 1,975,016 Nassif Sept. 25, 1934 2,521,882 Swift et a1. Sept. 12, 1950 2,636,203 Glantz Apr. 28, 1953 2,697,847 Levinson et al. Dec. 28, 1954 2,816,589 Tupper Dec. 17, 1957 2,859,786 Tupper Nov. 11, 1958 2,930,060 Pearce Mar. 29, 1960 

